For the first time since 1972, NASA has launched a crewed mission to the moon to further evaluate the effect of spaceflight on humans and travel farther from the Earth than ever before. Temple Now spoke with Matthew Newby, associate professor of instruction in physics in the College of Science and Technology, to learn more about his historic mission.

For the first time in 50 years, NASA has sent astronauts towards the moon on a mission known as Artemis II. In the 1960s and 70s, the Apollo missions established crewed space and lunar exploration. Now, in 2026, the Artemis missions are building on that legacy of scientific discovery to learn more about the effect of spaceflight on human beings. The mission will last 10 days and four crew members were aboard the Orion capsule as they launched from the Earth’s surface and through its atmosphere to travel towards the moon.  

While the crew won’t land on the moon, this historic mission serves as an important test flight to lay the foundation to bring humans to the surface of the moon within the decade. Temple Now sat down with Matthew Newby, associate professor of instruction in physics in the College of Arts and Science, to learn more about this mission and explore the significance of crewed lunar expeditions in 2026.  

Temple Now: What is the Artemis II mission? 

Matthew Newby: Artemis II is the second mission of the overall Artemis missions, which began in 2022 with Artemis I, an uncrewed lunar mission that successfully flew the Orion capsule around the moon. Artemis II will bring four crew members along for the ride. This crew will be the first astronauts aboard the Space Launch System (SLS) and the Orion spacecraft. It is also the first time in 50 years that NASA has launched a crewed lunar mission, and it will likely be the farthest that humans have traveled into space, approximately 254,000 miles from Earth.  

TN: What do researchers learn from crewed lunar missions?  

MN: It will always be cheaper to explore space with robots, especially with the technology available to us today. But Artemis II is about the human impact of space exploration. With the Apollo missions, we proved that we could send humans to space and that we could land on the moon. With Artemis, NASA is asking, how comfortable can we make spaceflight? Do we have the technology to make expeditions like this routine? Can we master the technology and processes needed to send people to space, so that we could one day set up a base on the moon or send humans to Mars? These are big questions, some that may feel like science fiction, but they are the questions central to the Artemis mission.  

We have made massive technological advances since the Apollo missions. With our advances, we are now able to track and get data on many things that weren’t possible with Apollo. For the Artemis missions, the astronauts will have 24/7 health monitors that collect data on the impact of spaceflight on the human body. We have a greater understanding of radiation now and we will be tracking the effect of deep-space radiation on the crew. We are testing navigation and communication technologies. There’s so much to learn when sending people to space and this mission is gathering data on all of it.  

TN: Who are the crew members of Artemis II? 

MN: There are four astronauts aboard the spacecraft on this mission: Reid Wiseman (commander), Victor Glover (pilot); Christina Koch (mission specialist) and Jeremy Hansen (mission specialist). This is a historic crew. Hansen is the first Canadian to travel to deep space. Glover is the first Black astronaut to travel to the moon. Koch is the first woman to travel to the moon.  

Everyone on board is an expert in their field and brings so much to this mission. Artemis II is really about human experience.

TN: Can you explain the “rocket science” behind how we get these astronauts from Earth to the moon? 

MN: The hardest part of spaceflight is actually Earth. We’ve got this very, very strong gravitational pull, and we’ve got this atmosphere. Both of those things are great for you and me, as humans on the ground, but if you want to get into space, you have to fight that gravitational pull to get up above the atmosphere, and the atmosphere is slowing you down the whole way. 

All spaceflight begins with a powerful, multistage rocket. These spacecrafts have to generate enough thrust to overcome Earth’s gravity, which they do by burning an enormous amount of fuel to launch themselves up and out. As that initial launch fuel depletes, the capsule splits off, leaving the crew with a fraction of the fuel they started with, as far less is needed during the rest of their journey. Once you’re in orbit, things get a lot easier, because you don’t have to fight the atmosphere anymore. 

For Artemis II, the mission will take approximately 10 days. It is a lunar flyby mission, so the crew won’t land on the moon but they will go out into space, loop around the Earth a few times, then go out towards the moon, essentially jumping over the moon, and then they will be pulled back to Earth due to the pull of Earth’s gravity. When the crew returns, they will descend into Earth’s atmosphere at a screaming 25,000 miles per hour. They will be the first people in history to experience that speed on their return. 

TN: The Artemis II crew will be flying farther from Earth than any human before, and they will catch a rare view of the moon. What will the crew see during their lunar flyby? 

MN: The moon is what we call “tidally locked,” meaning that the force of gravity from the Earth on the moon has actually pulled the heavier side of the moon towards us permanently. The moon rotates once on its axis every time it orbits the Earth, so one side faces us at all times. This means that until the 1960s, the human race has never seen “the far side of the moon.” Nowadays, we have pictures from different missions and orbiters that are up in space so give humanity access to this view but seeing it in person, with your own two eyes, is a special thing and a big deal.  

When this crew does their lunar flyby, they will be the first humans in 50 years to see the far side of the moon. Beyond just the joy and uniqueness of that moment, there is a lot for researchers to gain from human observation. 

TN: What are some of the differences between the Apollo missions and the Artemis missions? 

MN: There are several differences, especially because everything we are doing for the Artemis mission builds on knowledge gained from Apollo, as well as the many advances in technology that we’ve experienced since the 1960s.  

Take the capsule, for example. On the original Apollo mission, inside the capsule, it was shoulder to shoulder, no free space, no toilet. They had plastic baggies. It was rough. My first impression when I saw the Orion capsule for Artemis II was, “Oh, that’s roomy.” They’ve got 4 people in there, and they can actually move around. There’s an exercise machine. There’s a toilet!  

Likewise, the computing power that is available to us now in 2026 is far beyond what was available for the Apollo missions in the 1960s. The amount of computing power in the average smartphone today is far more than we had available for those first crewed lunar spaceflights. So, with all these advancements, there’s a lot more we can learn during these missions, especially about the impact of spaceflights on the astronauts themselves. 

Thanks to the Apollo missions, we know how to get people to space and the moon. With this mission, it is clear that NASA is thinking about not only how do we conduct crewed lunar missions but how comfortable can they be? Can we give astronauts space to move around, to exercise, to look out the window?

TN: Considering that it’s been 50 years since the last manned lunar mission, why now? Why is NASA exploring manned spaceflight in 2026? 

MN: If you want to look at the really big picture, one of the questions being asked during Artemis is, can we make this routine? And that is a very long-term question. When we think about the Earth, that is our home, where all humans live. If we mess up our planet too much, we may start to look for alternatives. In addition to questions of feasibility, i.e., can we do it, there is also the question of, is it worth it?  

Again, that may sound like science fiction, but it has long been a research question for astrophysicists, for NASA. What resources might be available for humans on the moon, on Mars? Can we get there safely, routinely? Can we build a base or self-sustaining colony? We can’t do any of that without the work we’re doing right now with these missions.  

A lot of people I know think this mission is overdue, but with recent mechanical, computational and medical advancements, it might actually be the perfect moment.